Oh Canada!

111 Squadron Kittyhawk Mk IA of Kenneth Boomer

Going back to a bit of an Aleutian theme with this post, as I wanted to delve deeper into the Canadian involvement in the Aleutian Campaign, and I have to say there wasn't much of one from a front line perspective. After seeing numerous photos in The Aleutian Warriors - A History of the 11th Air Force & Fleet Air Wing 4 by John H. Cloe, I was hoping to locate more information on the Canadian participation in active duty against the Japanese, but have been a bit disappointed in that aspect. That is not to take away the importance of the RCAF and their Bristol Bolingbrokes (license built versions of the Blenheim Mk IV) and Curtiss Kittyhawks in filling a support function, there is but one mission in which 111 Squadron took an active part. 

By late summer 1942, Allied forces initiated the "Kiska Blitz." On September 25, a massive joint US-Canadian strike force took advantage of a break in the fog to hammer the occupied island. The operation was immense by Aleutian standards, with nine Consolidated B-24 Liberators, twelve Bell P-39 Airacobras, and twenty Curtiss P-40 Warhawks/Kittyhawks taking part. To bolster the overstretched 11th Air Force, the RCAF deployed four pilots from 111 Squadron, under the command of Squadron Leader Kenneth A. Boomer, a veteran with service in England. The flight from 111 Squadron was assigned to fly close and high cover in company with the USAAF 11th Fighter Squadron's P-40s. The Japanese 452nd Kokutai managed to scramble airborne resistance, but the severe weather and relentless bombing meant they only had two A6M2-N Rufes in flight-ready condition.

After protecting the bombers, the Allied fighters dropped down to strafe the harbor. In the ensuing low-altitude skirmish, Squadron Leader Boomer engaged the floatplanes and successfully shot down one of the Rufes, marking the only recorded RCAF air-to-air kill over North American soil during the Second World War.

Of course, this led to the creation of a scenario, starting with the Canadians after they completed the bomber escort portion of their mission. Next will be to buy even more P-40E models from Flight Deck Decals (need to buy more anyway to use with my Blue Falcon Hobbies 49th Fighter Group decals). Here is the single Canadian combat during the Aleutian Campaign:

Oh Canada!

My Take on Operation Vengeance

I know this scenario exists already, I believe in a file obtainable from the Check Your 6! discussion group, but I wanted to delve into the mission to shoot down Yamamoto on my own, without reviewing the existing scenario. I am pretty pleased by the result, after consulting various books and YouTube videos about the event. Then I used a little AI to mix the parts together, providing direction in terms of Check Your 6! formatting, and then did some adjusting, and now I have a pretty good scenario for Operation Vengeance. One could of course add in the other eight P-38s but that would make a huge scenario, and historically it was the "Killer Flight" that saw all the action (which begs the question, just where were the covering flights?).

Without further ado, Operation Vengeance.

Progress on the Slovakian Front

The draft front cover

I have been reformatting the Slovak-Hungarian War scenario booklet (at twenty pages and eight scenarios, I can't bring myself to call it a book), getting all the scenarios "cleaned up" as the scenario template found on the discussion group is a bit janky. I also have had three vendors send over ads to include in the guide, provided gratis as all three entities have been gracious to me in the past through our communications and dealings. I am still awaiting one more advert, and then once the formatting has been completed I will see if the self-publishing portal I have used in the past for some Civil War projects can also do a smaller page count project (lulu.com). 

The cover, pictured left, is looking decent. The booklet will have color aircraft profiles, color photos of games, a listing of where to obtain miniatures for the war as well as a bit of a background to the conflict. Six of the scenarios have their roots in historical events, meaning they are, as much as I could make possible, based on the real deal. One scenario is purely hypothetical, and the final scenario is based on an event that almost took place had the orders not be rescinded due to the cease fire that ended the shooting war.

I hope to have the scenarios all reformatted in a few days, then the process of uploading to the self-publishing site might take a day, then it will be ready for sale if the price points make it affordable for gamers. Profit margins will be minimal as I simply want to get this, the first of what might turn into a few Check You 6! scenario books, available to gamers.

UPDATE: I realized that the cover art is indeed art, and as I cannot make out the artist's signature to locate the artist to obtain permission to use the cover, I instead "cheated" and will be going with this as the cover art.